Companionship
by DangerousMuteLunatic
Summary: Her one purpose was to be a friend. Now she has one, but can it last? ChellxAndroid!Companion Cube, Companion Cube pov.
1. The Cube

I crouched in the Vital Apparatus Vent in wait for my assigned test subject. Wirelessly, I checked her status. She was in the elevator, only a few minutes away. I double-checked her files. Test Subject Number One, Name: Chell, redacted surname. High IQ, quite athletic. A good subject. But I knew in my heart, or maybe my programming, I can hardly tell the difference these days, I knew that I need more than a test subject. I need a friend. I need a partner. I need… a companion. And I was pretty sure this Chell lady was going to need one too.

The notes in her file seemed highly unusual. "Subject refuses to answer questionnaire. Possibly mute." "Subject abnormally stubborn. She never gives up. Ever." The whirr of an approaching elevator snapped me back to reality. Chell stepped into the room. Her dehumanizing jumpsuit was stained and filthy, her dark ponytail was a rat's nest. Still… there was something in her eyes. Something strong, proud, too proud to be stuck in this hellhole. _Gahh!_ I grimaced as agonizing pain pierced my skull at the thought. _Facility! This marvelous facility! It… It goes against protocol! To… be that proud!_ The pain subsided as I forced the superficial thoughts into my mind. _Cursed protocol system._ I forced the thought out of my head as a fresh wave of pain threatened to crash over me. Even thoughts are regulated among androids at Aperture Labs.

The voice of GLaDOS, addressing Chell, reminded me of my, _ugh_, duties. "The Vital Apparatus Vent will deliver a Weighted Companion Cube in three, two, one."

The floor beneath me opened and I fell into the test chamber. "Oof!" I hadn't expected such a fall. "Gimme a hand, will ya?" I looked up at my assignment. She was staring at me with a mixture of horror and suspicion. "Oh, right. Where are my manners?" I stood and brushed off my skirt. Extending my hand to her, I said, "Hi, I'm the Weighted Companion Cube." I saw her mouthing my name silently. "But if that's too much of a mouthful," I added, "you can just call me CiCi."

I waited for her to introduce herself. She simply stared blankly at my outstretched hand. "Oh, right, the mute thing." I dropped my hand and settled for a little wave. "Chell, right? Well, it's alright, I'm not gonna make you talk. Just," I sighed "test."

Once she got over the initial shock of seeing me, you know, talk, she settled right into business mode. I could almost see the gears in her little human mind turning, trying to work out the next test. We walked, together, into the next area.

GLaDOS came back online. "This Weighted Companion Cube will accompany you through the test chamber. Please take care of it."

"Again with the 'Weighted'!" I joked in frustration. "I'm not fat! I- gahh!" I collapsed, clutching my aching head. Chell knelt at my side, studying me. "I'm sorry, I- ah! Whenever I say or do or_ think_ something rebellious or against protocol…" I shuddered. "Let's just do the test, okay?"

Chell nodded. She stood and helped me to my feet. The way into the test chamber was up a flight of high steps. She tried to jump onto the first one, but it was too high. "First challenge." I announced. "Use the Cube." I leapt up easily (there are perks to being an android!) and gave her a boost up. We managed to get to a position where she could see the chamber. She stopped to evaluate the test. I saw, before she could, a High Energy Pellet… coming straight at her! I couldn't let her be vaporized at the first obstacle!

"Chell! Look out!" I cried, leaping at her and pushing her away. Her eyes widened as she heard the whistle of the Pellet just a second too late. I braced myself for the impact. The hot ball of light smacked my metal side painfully and bounced off. It ricocheted off the side wall and bounced back down the hall. "Come on!" Beckoning Chell to follow me, I darted down the hall before they could release another Pellet.

We reached a spot where we could stop. GLaDOS' voice rang through the room. "The symptoms most commonly produced by Enrichment Center Testing are superstition, perceiving inanimate objects as alive, and hallucinations."

Oh, god. Chell was looking at me like I had grown another head.

"What're you… oh, no." _Perceiving inanimate objects as alive. Hallucinations._ I saw it in her eyes; she thinks she's finally snapped. She thinks she's crazy. Worst of all, she thinks I'm _just a box._


	2. The Walls

"Don't listen to her! I'm- ahhhhh!" I cursed as a jolt of electricity arced through my entire body. Desperate, I grabbed Chell's hand. She pulled back and stared at me.

_Please,_ I pleaded silently through the pain, _you're my friend. I… I need you._

My eyes must've said it all, because she nodded and gestured to the rest of the test. This was her element, I could tell. Occasionally blocking High Energy Pellets, which still hurt, by the way, we scurried together down the hall. The test was simple, really, at least for Chell. She was running around, shooting portals, beckoning me over whenever she needed my help.

Suddenly I spotted something strange. "Hey, Chell, check this out!" I pointed to where a wall panel was pushed out a bit from the rest of the chamber wall.

She walked over to examine it. Gesturing for me to stay where I was, she shot a portal into the room and entered it. I started to follow her, but she removed the portal, effectively locking me out. I was a little hurt by her mistrust, but I sat down on the chamber floor and did a little wireless research. That's odd… the little alcove didn't show up on the chamber schematic.

After a while, Chell returned, a hurt expression on her face. Her eyes were pained and filled with tears.

"Chell? What's-what's wrong?"

She shook her head sadly. A few hairs fell loose from her ponytail. I moved to put them back in place, but she yanked but as if I were made of neurotoxin. She stepped as far away from me as the chamber would allow and pointed forcefully at a raised button that she couldn't reach.

Her expression clearly said, _Button. Now._

Obedient and a little confused, I jumped up and stood on the button, holding open a door. Chell scurried off to another section of the test, portal device at the ready. She looked as though she would be gone for a while, so I carefully stepped down from the platform. I _had_ to know what was in that little room!

GLaDOS must have detected my intentions, because the second I got close to the gap in the wall, the most agonizing pain I had felt yet nearly split my skull. I collapsed, gritting my teeth and trying not to scream. I somehow managed to squeeze behind the panel despite the pain. The second I was past the main chamber wall, though, the pain began to ebb away. I stepped all the way into the alcove, relief washing over me as the agony disappeared as quickly as it had come.

I finally got a good look at the room. I truly, _truly_, wish I hadn't.

All around the room, there were photos. They all showed the same thing.

Me.

Well, not me, exactly. Technically, it was another Weighted Companion Cube.

Technically, it was one of my sisters.

She was posed all over the test chamber, smiling and waving at the camera. Her face was pasted onto photos of the original founder of Aperture Science, and, (I had to look away) onto a bikini model calendar.

That wasn't the worst part. Not even close. Written in black and red by some unknown hand were words, rants, and poems about his Companion Cube. Most of them were illegible, but one poem, written boldly in red, stood out as clear as artificial day.

_Not in cruelty,_

_Not in wrath,_

_The __Reaper__ came today;_

_An angel visited this gray path,_

_And took the cube away._

I staggered backward in shock. What? Now I spun around quickly, taking in everything. Two drawings I hadn't noticed before caught my attention. One was my sister cube with angel wings and a halo.

The other was her as a skeleton.

"N-no!" I cried in horror, whipping around to flee the scene as fast as my bionic legs could carry me. As soon as I squeezed back through the panel, the pain returned, twice as bad as before. This time I _did_ scream, collapsed in a heap on the floor.

Suddenly the pain faded. I could hear a very soft chuckle. Then a communication link opened.

"_I think you have plenty of pain at the moment._" GLaDOS murmured in my head. I still didn't get up. "_Well? Finish the test!_"

A short burst of electricity brought me to my feet. Artificial tears stained my cheeks.

They had nothing to do with the pain.


	3. The Warning

**A/N: I'm sorry I haven't been updating much. With vacations and school, I just haven't had time. As always, I will try my hardest to continue writing.**

I didn't have long to cry, because I could hear the distinct clanging sounds of Chell's Advanced Knee Replacements approaching. I sprinted down the corridor as fast as I could and leapt onto the button. Moments later, Chell appeared and placed an orange portal across the way, directly across from the pair of doors we had to open. Through the portal, I could see a High Energy Pellet Launcher, preparing to fire.

Chell got onto a second button and waited. As the Pellet passed into our chamber, I could see Chell's face and emotions clearly. She almost wanted to just step into its path and be vaporized.

However, at the last second, her face took on that familiar hardness that meant she could take on anything. She sidestepped, still holding down the button, and the Pellet missed her face by inches.

It whizzed through the door she held open. It continued through mine. It hit its receptacle, and just like that, the test was solved.

I forced a smile. Maybe testing wouldn't be so bad if we could work together like this.

I hopped down and followed Chell out to the main chamber, where three glass platforms had risen up out of the floor. She shot a blue portal up to the ledge and motioned for me to go first. As I passed her, I couldn't help but notice her pointed effort not to look me in the eyes.

I leapt carefully from one platform to another until I reached an iron-lined corridor off to the right. I jumped into it, Chell following closely behind. We followed the corridor until we reached an equally portal surface-free room with a large red button on the floor.

"You did it." GLaDOS droned, feigning joy. "Your Weighted Companion Cube certainly brought you good luck."

I grinned, proud of myself.

"However," GLaDOS continued coldly, "it cannot accompany you for the rest of the test and, unfortunately, must be euthanized."

_WHAAAAT?_

"_You heard me._" The awful AI whispered in my head, "_Did you honestly think I would let you keep testing with her after that blatant disregard for protocol? Oh, I guess you did. Oh well. Companion Cube euthanization _is _part of protocol, so unless you want another unsatisfactory mark on your official testing record…_" She trailed off as I glared daggers at the red-eyed camera through which She was looking at us. "_Oh, don't give me that look. I don't make the rules- oh, wait, yes I do._"

"Please escort your Companion Cube to the Aperture Science Emergency Intelligence Incinerator."

I would have liked nothing more than the opportunity to punch that smug-looking camera off of the wall, but I forced my gaze back to Chell, who slowly shook her head.

_I won't do it,_ her eyes told me.

"I know." I replied. She wouldn't kill me, no matter what GLaDOS said.

I walked down to the other section of the room, the section I hadn't seen. Straight ahead was a room with a glass window, through which I could see a hand button.

To my right was the incinerator. I backed rapidly away from it. I could imagine the screams of my sisters as they were flung in by desperate test subjects.

I turned back to Chell, uncertain. The next tests were hard, that much I knew, but my programming prevented me from seeing the details. I could, however, see their mortality rates. Chamber 18 had only been solved five times. Chamber 19 was unsurvivable.

"Chell!" I gasped. "Chamber 19!" But however I tried, I couldn't continue. Damn programming.

She looked at me questioningly while I searched for the words. What could I say to warn her? What else would she go through? I looked for maps. The test chambers… they just ended at 19! There wasn't even an exit! The only way out of the chamber was the maintenance areas. Weren't they inaccessible? But Chell had a portal gun… and the maintenance areas led… Suddenly, I knew what to do.

I grabbed Chell's wrist and yanked her back through the hall. I let go only when we reached the glass platforms, trusting her to leap down with me. There was a pounding in my head that threatened to force me to my knees with every step I took in the opposite direction of the incinerator. I charged at the gap in the wall, squeezing my eyes shut from the pain. My knees gave out a few feet away.

"In!" I gasped, pointing at the room. Chell placed two portals and dragged me in, instantly lessening the pain.

"Thank you," I panted. "She can't get me here." I had to explain the plan. "Look, there's danger up ahead. More danger then you've ever faced. But you can do it! I know you can! She's going to… I don't know, but it isn't good. You need to get out. You need to get to Her." I took a deep breath of foul air into mechanical lungs. "You need to kill Her."

**This story is probably only going to be one or two more chapters, plus an epilogue. Just let me tell you that I'm not planning on letting **_**any**_** of my stories die off, but it may take a while to get them all written up.**


End file.
